Campaigners against car crime are to urge the chief constable for tougher measures to combat so-called "joy-riders".

Families Bereaved Through Car Crime are to meet Hugh Orde at police headquarters on Friday.

The group said car theft was a major problem which had to be tackled effectively.

Last week, taxi drivers from nationalist and loyalist areas of west Belfast joined together for an anti-car crime motorcade through the centre of the city.

'Stolen cars'

They were supported by other drivers from around Belfast.

Car thieves are a serious problem in west Belfast and drivers from both loyalist and republican backgrounds united in an unprecedented show of solidarity.

Campaign co-ordinator Tommy Holland said they wanted to show their abhorrence at what car thieves were doing to their communities.

Latest police figures show that nearly a quarter of all stolen cars recovered in Northern Ireland are found in west Belfast.

More than 350 vehicles have been stolen in the area so far this year and 1,141 recovered there.

Margaret Muir: Brother killed by car thieves

The figures mark a 24% reduction on last year.

The police said 122 arrests had been made as a result of a special auto-crime team set up in July.

In September, a memorial to victims of car crime was unveiled in west Belfast amid calls for tougher sentencing for so-called joyriders.

The granite monument at Teeling roundabout in Poleglass is a tribute to the 48 people who have lost their lives through car crime in the past 30 years.

It was unveiled by Margaret Muir whose brother, Patrick Hanna, was killed after being struck by a stolen car three years ago.